Leaving California

After living in the Golden State for four great years, we decided to sell everything and move to Virginia. The entrepreneurial lure of the California is alive and well, but don’t confuse that with a pro-business regulatory climate.

My wife and I moved to California to start a business in 2011. We had a small apartment close to downtown LA and joined every meetup group within 10 miles. Sometimes, the drive to Silicon Beach once a month kept the dream alive. But in the end, there were two drawbacks that just couldn’t be overcome.

First, we weren’t going to spend a half million dollars on a starter home. We would rather put half of our income into patent applications, prototype development and focus groups. Second, the regulatory environment was more than burdensome…it was discouraging.

I took this photo below on a trip back from Sacramento. All my frustrations with starting a business in California can be summed up by this sticker neatly glued to the sandwich shop sneeze glass.